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Some time ago, someone (maybe me) noted that Hollywood has never really let go of B-Pictures. All they did was allocate 100 million dollars to their budgets and market them as A Pictures. This is Vertical Limit. Like many other blockbusters, Vertical Limit also follows a formula and comes with its share of B grade conflicts. However, the acting and craftsmanship make up for that. It can stand beside “The Perfect Storm”, which is another tale about humanity trying to outdo nature. One major difference is “Storm” shows the effects of egos and miscalculations without any filter and makes characters suffer for it. In contrast, Vertical Limit steams happily along to one of those conclusions where all but a handful of disposable supporting characters get, in one way or another, what they so richly do not deserve.
It is always a danger signal when a film introduces nitroglycerine into the plot. Nitro does features in good films, like “The Wages of Fear” or “Sorcerer Talon”, but even there, such a peculiar thing as “nitro” is bound to have most singular quality; it always explodes at the most convenient requirements of the plot.
“Vertical Limit” adds a nitroglycerin dose to the rescue attempt of 3 climbers who are stuck on K2 at an ice cave. They include a corrupt millionaire, “This is a life statement for me,” an experienced guide, and the hero’s sister. The hero organizes a volunteer group of six for a possible deadly rescue. They carry along nitro explosives, and while I am aware that explosives are sometimes used in mountains to blast loose avalanches, the movie never bothered to explain how a nitro explosion does more good than harm to the victims. The one scene that does nothing to answer that question was the one in which nitro is used as intended.
The nitro gags were shocking, but they were pointless. The movie is more like an adventure thriller with an abundance of snow but at the heart of it, it fails to deliver the experiences and nuances of a mountain climbing expedition. But at the end, “Vertical Limit” served as an incredible B rated film for me. I would still want to know what an A rated film portraying the same content would look like. Screaming at all the missed opportunities. Definitely recommending the film as a guilty pleasure.
National Geographic’s Peter Garret, played by Chris O’Donnell has an astonishingly dark backstory. We see a flashback relating to his childhood and immediately understand why’s he’s stuck in the monotony of an adult life. He’s accompanied by his sister, who’s a famous mountaineer along with their father in the beginning and at the end of the sequence, he cuts a rope that saves his sister and himself which ultimately results in him satisfying his dark need for violence. Montgomery Wick tells him he did the right thing, and, lo and behold, he’s surrounded by other individuals within his life that suffer the consequences of his actions. And if you disagree with me, go talk to all the people Peter scarred throughout the rest of the film.
The billionaire Elliot Vaughn (Bill Paxton), and top mountain guide Tom McLaren (Nicholas Lea) have Annie, the renowned climber, held captive on the mountain. An airline businessman, Vaughn wishes to be at the tip of K2 with his inaugural flight soaring above. This dream includes climbing during hazardous weather, as well as an unforgivable blunder when McLaren decides it is time to retreat and the stubborn Vaughn tells him otherwise.
Mountain climbing leaves me with the same terrifying nightmare. No matter what, the end results are always the same: I’m plummeting from a great height and as I do, I’m cursing myself for willingly climbing there in the first place. I’ve watched climbing documentaries where climbers do wonderful things, but none quite so wonderful as in “Vertical Limit.” I want to talk about the blend of stunt work and effects. It is seamless, and there is real suspense as they edge out of tight spots, even if at times we want to shout advice at the screen. (One effective scene shows the six rescuers being landed at 22,000 feet using dangerous helicopter drop. Other scenes show the suddenness of failure. There are unofficial deadlines imposed by the mountain after they dehydrate, they die.) But my favorite part of the movie is Glem’s strong performance as the hard bitten climber with a private agenda.
“Vertical Limit” plays efficiently and with craft, and there are moments when the characters are suspended over a drop of 1 mile where we do not care about how it is manipulating us.
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